Airbus SE has appointed Michael Schöllhorn, 53, as chief operating officer (COO) for Airbus Commercial Aircraft, effective Feb. 1, 2019. Schöllhorn, currently COO for BSH Home Appliances GmbH [a division of Bosch Group] in Munich, will succeed Tom Williams, 66, who retires Dec. 31, 2018 after 50 years in the aerospace industry, 19 of which were in top Airbus management positions.

“Michael brings a vast amount of expertise in digitalization, end-to-end process optimization, manufacturing, quality, and supply chain management – key assets to transition our company to the next levels of production efficiency,” said Guillaume Faury, president Airbus Commercial Aircraft.

Schöllhorn will report to Faury, who will succeed Tom Enders as Airbus CEO following the shareholders Annual General Meeting on April 10, 2019. He will also become a member of the Airbus Executive Committee.

On the appointment, Airbus CEO Tom Enders said: “We are glad to welcome Michael, and we bid farewell to Tom Williams, a great personality and leader both in Airbus and the wider European aerospace industry for many years. Tom braved countless challenges during his time with Airbus, always overcoming them in the best interest of the company and its customers, and never losing his dry Scottish humor. Tom’s impressive career took him from the shop floor as an apprentice with Rolls-Royce in 1969 to the Airbus Executive Committee. I am forever grateful for his engagement, leadership, and friendship. I wish him a well-deserved retirement.”

Michael Schöllhorn’s wealth of diverse manufacturing and production expertise was gained from 1999 at the Bosch Group. Most notably, between 2012 to 2014 he was Executive Vice President Manufacturing and Quality, additionally heading the Global Business unit for chassis and safety sensors. Prior to this, he held several international management positions in the US and Czech Republic. From 2004 to 2008 he was Vice President of Quality Management and from 2012 to 2014, Executive Vice President Manufacturing and Quality. In 2015, Michael was appointed COO and Member of the Management Board for BSH Home Appliances GmbH (100 percent subsidiary of the Robert Bosch GmbH), one of the world’s leading home appliance manufacturers.

Michael Schöllhorn holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Control Engineering from the Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg. He served in the German Armed Forces as a helicopter pilot and officer from 1984 to 1994.

Airbus Defence and Space has appointed Barbara Bergmeier, 50, as Head of Operations and Member of the Executive Committee, effective Dec. 1, 2018. She succeeds André-Hubert Roussel, 53, who will become chief executive officer (CEO) of ArianeGroup, a 50-50 joint venture between Airbus and Safran, effective Jan. 1, 2019.

“Bergmeier brings extensive experience in Manufacturing-Operations, Digital Transformation, Supply Chain Management, Production Restructuring, Design and Set-up of assembly lines and a strong international background – all assets which are of paramount importance for the further implementation of our growth strategy in the coming years,” said Dirk Hoke, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space.

Bergmeier joins Airbus Defence and Space from Vilsbiburg, Germany-based Dräxlmaier Group, where she has been COO and an Executive Board Member since 2014. In that capacity, she has been in charge of 50 production sites in 20 countries and has expanded the company’s industrial footprint in Asia and in the Americas. Bergmeier previously worked at BMW Group where she held various senior management positions.

Joint shareholders Airbus SE and Safran have proposed to the Board of Directors of ArianeGroup André-Hubert Roussel, 53, currently Head of Operations at Airbus Defence and Space, to succeed Alain Charmeau, 62, as chief executive officer (CEO) of ArianeGroup, effective Jan. 1, 2019. Charmeau will serve as Special Advisor to the new CEO of ArianeGroup until retirement.

Since 2016, Roussel has been serving as head of operations and member of the Executive Committee at Airbus Defence and Space. Since July 2018, he has also been a member of the ArianeGroup Board of Directors. Previously, he oversaw Engineering at Airbus Defence and Space. In 2014, Roussel took the lead for the launcher programs at Airbus and helped launch the Ariane 6 program as well as facilitated the creation of the ArianeGroup joint venture.

Maya HTT, Siemens PLM host space movie premier in Montreal

Approximately 250 suppliers to the Montreal aerospace community gathered at the Colossus de Laval theater and entertainment complex in the Cosmodome for a premier showing of “First Man,” the movie which traces the history of the first moon landing in 1969. The film focuses on the life of Neil Armstrong, the American astronaut who took that “one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”

This event was sponsored jointly by Maya HTT and Siemens PLM, partners in service to the aerospace industry in Montreal. Hosting the event was Rita Azrak, marketing director for Maya, who began the technical presentation portion of the day by musing that the actual “first foot” on the moon was Canadian, as the landing leg cones on the lunar excursion module Eagle were fabricated in Canada.

A recorded message from the first Canadian astronaut, Marc Garneau, now Minister of Transport in Canada and a veteran of three flights on the Space Shuttle, began the presentation. Three main speakers gave insights on their companies’ involvement in the industry and shared their optimism for the future, as funding for renewed space exploration by both Canada and America is in the works with the respective countries’ governments.

Mike Greenley, group president for aerospace supplier MDA Corp.; George Rendell, senior director at Siemens; and Marc Lafontaine, vice-president of Maya spoke of the benefits in our daily lives from the space program, as well as the next major project now under way, the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, a lunar orbit space station which will serve as a solar-powered communications hub, science lab, short-term habitation module, and holding area for space rovers and other robots.

The program also included a variety of successes achieved with Siemens PLM products, especially NX CAD and NX CAM through the Teamcenter of product lifecycle management. Maya is the Siemens partner in Montreal and brings further value to these products and others in the Siemens suite as a Platinum Level VAR, serving a broad spectrum of industries, including aerospace, defense, automotive, marine, and commercial building.

AMETEK acquires Spectro Scientific

One of the world’s largest suppliers of fluid analysis instrumentation and software has been purchased for approximately $190 million.

Spectro Scientific, one of the world’s largest suppliers of fluid analysis instrumentation and software, has been purchased by AMETEK Inc. Spectro has annual sales of approximately $50 million and was acquired for approximately $190 million. Spectro was a privately held company and is headquartered in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. It joins AMETEK as part of its Electronic Instruments Group (EIG) – a leader in advanced analytical, monitoring, testing, calibrating, and display instruments with annualized sales of $3.0 billion.

Spectro Scientific President and CEO Brian Mitchell said, “Our mission over the last several years has been to focus on new technology development; strategic company and product acquisitions; and the continual improvement of Spectro products, providing our customers with the most advanced, precise, and convenient fluid analysis tools possible. To accomplish that, the dedication of our employees and global partners has been nothing short of astounding. Our customers can be assured that the legacy of support and innovation will continue.”

David A. Zapico, AMETEK chairman and CEO said, “Spectro is an excellent acquisition for AMETEK. Their differentiated solutions serve an increasing need for predictive maintenance in a broad and growing set of end markets, including military and defense, process industrial, power generation, and transportation. Spectro’s solution offering nicely complements our strategy to integrate instrumentation data into cloud-based software and analytics.”

Spectro Scientific specializes in analytical instrumentation and software for machine condition monitoring. It is one of the largest global suppliers of fluid analysis instruments to industry and the military worldwide. Industry clients include petrochemical, fleets, mining and power generation companies, as well as commercial testing laboratories. Spectro Scientific’s extensive product offerings include spectrometers for wear metal analysis, lubricant degradation and contamination analyzers, particle analysis instruments, complete turnkey systems for oil or fuel analysis laboratories, and the TruVu 360 enterprise fluid intelligence data management platform.

AMETEK is a global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices with annualized sales of approximately $4.8 billion.

Workhorse Group to test SureFly eVTOL for US military

Cooperative research and development agreement will test real-time use cases.

Cincinnati, Ohio-based Workhorse Group Inc. has entered into a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with a branch of the U.S. military. The CRADA will enable a collaborative research and development program focused on military applications of the Workhorse's SureFly electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) personal air vehicle.

"This CRADA will enable Workhorse to validate and test real-time use cases of the SureFly and related designs, including potential applications for the U.S. military," said Steve Burns, CEO of Workhorse. "We are excited about the commercial applications for SureFly and now expanding the potential use cases to help our troops is doubly gratifying."

The Surefly is a two-place hybrid eVTOL multi-copter aircraft developed by Workhorse in Loveland, Ohio. It is designed to carry about 550 lb of payload approximately 70 miles, at a speed of about 70mph, day or night. It has been designed to create a new type of aircraft that is easy to operate, safe to fly, and is moderately priced relative to a conventional helicopter.

Lockheed Martin begins manufacturing NASA's X-59 QueSST

Pictured, a Lockheed Martin technician at their Palmdale, California, facility prepares a machine to shave the first piece of NASA’s X-59 QueSST aircraft, which later will be integrated into the overall structure. Image credit: Kevin Robertson/Lockheed Martin

NASA and Lockheed Martin have now taken a step closer to a future with faster-than-sound air travel over land.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company of Palmdale, California, recently began manufacturing the first part of NASA’s X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft. When completed, NASA will use the X-59 to study how reducing the sonic boom heard from traditional supersonic jets to a quiet sonic “thump” could lead to acceptance of supersonic flight over land.

“We’ve reached an exciting milestone not only for NASA but for airliners and passengers wishing to arrive to their destination in half the time,” said Craig Nickol, the NASA project manager for the Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator project. “Manufacturing the first part of the X-59 is a step on a path that leads to the completion of an exciting research aircraft, quiet supersonic flight and new markets for faster air travel.”

"The start of manufacturing on the project marks a great leap forward for the X-59 and the future of quiet supersonic commercial travel," said Peter Iosifidis, Low Boom Flight Demonstrator program manager Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. "The long, slender design of the aircraft is the key to achieving a low sonic boom. As we enter into the manufacturing phase, the aircraft structure begins to take shape, bringing us one step closer to enabling supersonic travel for passengers around the world."

Illustration of the X-59 QueSST as it flies above NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. Credit: Lockheed Martin

When completed, the single-pilot experimental aircraft will go through a series of tests to prove its performance. Then the X-59 will fly over a number of U.S communities, collecting data on how the public responds to the quiet “sonic thump.” U.S. and international regulators will use the data to potentially change the rules that currently ban supersonic flight over land.

NASA selected Lockheed Martin to build, design, and conduct initial flight tests of the X-59. Work under the contract began April 2 and runs through Dec. 31, 2021.

NASA has officially committed to a development timeline that will lead to the first flight of its X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft in 2021.

This critical milestone comes after a rigorous review, Key Decision Point-C (KDP-C), that confirmed NASA’s continued support of the X-59, in terms of funding, and established an achievable development timeline for NASA’s first piloted, full-size X-plane in more than three decades.

“This aircraft has the potential to transform aviation in the United States and around the world by making faster-than-sound air travel over land possible for everyone,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “We can’t wait to see this bird fly!”

X-59 is designed to cruise at 55,000ft at a speed of about 940mph [Mach 1.4] and create a sound about as loud as a car door closing, 75 Perceived Level decibel (PLdB), instead of a sonic boom.